All too often homeowners are afraid to cut the flowers blooming in their own backyards. "People worry that they'll be taking away from the landscape," says This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook. "But with a cutting garden, picking the flowers is the whole point." We bring you two dozen of Roger's favorite flowering plants, perfect for your very own cutting garden.
Roger's Favorite Flowering Plants:
1. Gypsophile paniculata 'Snow Flake'; commonly called Baby's Breath (white)
2. Dusty Miller; annual (white/silver)
3. Nicotiana; annual (purple)
4. Achillea 'Moonshine'; commonly called Yarrow (yellow)
5. Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sunray' (yellow)
6. Leucanthemum superbum; commonly called Shasta Daisy (white)
7. Eryngium planum 'Blaukappe'; commonly called Sea Holly (blue)
8. Echinacea purpurea 'Kim's Knee High' (pink)
9. Alchemilla mollis; commonly called Lady's Mantle (chartreuse)
10. Penstemon digitalis 'Husker's Red'; commonly called foxglove (red leaves, white flower)
11. Aster novae-angliae Alma Potschke'; commonly called New England Aster (rose)
12. Liatris spicata; commonly called Gayfeather (purple)
13. Coleus; annual (yellow/red)
14. Marguerite; annual (yellow and pink)
15. Echinops; commonly called Globe Thistle (blue)
16. Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite' (blue)
17. Monarda; commonly called Bee Balm (red/crimson)
18. Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon' spurge (purple bronze)
19. Canna; annual (red/green foliage, red/white flowers)
20. Iris siberica 'Suja Iris'; commonly called Siberian Iris (light blue)
21. Zinnia; annual (orange)
22. Snapdragon; annual (yellow)
23. Cleome; commonly called Spider Plant; annual (rose and white)
24. Sunflowers; annual (orange)
